Library Services for Grant-Funded Research Projects

Overview

Faculty across all disciplines collect and create digital objects during the course of grant-funded research projects. There is a growing need for web infrastructure that will allow faculty members to easily organize, share, and preserve research outputs. Funding agencies increasingly require grant applications that include plans for knowledge mobilization and long-term preservation. The University of Victoria Libraries has significant infrastructure and expertise to support digital publishing, and we propose to extend those services to meet faculty needs for digital asset management and web publishing.

The University of Victoria Libraries will offer a basic suite of digital publishing services as in-kind contributions to grant proposals. If additional customization and development is required, the library will consult with the research team to determine what additional costs should be included in the funding proposal. The library can also work with co-op students and graduate assistants to achieve a project's specific goals.

Please note that all in-kind contributions from UVic Libraries must be confirmed and approved in consultation with UVic Libraries’ Grants and Awards Office and Advanced Research Services. To learn more or arrange a consultation, please email librarygrants@uvic.ca.

Types of Services Offered

Digital Asset Management

UVic Libraries will assist faculty who propose to collect or create a large number of digital research objects including documents, images, datasets, audio, or video. Our Hydra/Fedora digital asset management system permits a distributed research team to upload, share, and describe digital objects of all kinds. Privacy settings allow team members to share objects within the team or openly on the web. Versioning allows team members to track object revisions, and restore earlier versions if necessary. The system displays a history of all activity for any given object.

Researchers are responsible for uploading digital objects, and for ensuring that they have the appropriate rights over that material.

In-kind value:

  • $2,000 for initial collection configuration, software training, and support ($80/hr x 25 hours)
  • $250/funding year for infrastructure costs and maintenance

Notes on calculations: $80 per hour represents a mix of time from librarians, technicians, and support staff. 25 hours is our best estimate of the time that it will take to configure a dedicated Hydra collection for a project, to apply user accounts and permissions, to create a metadata template and index, and to provide initial interface instruction to project staff. This figure may be revised with experience. Hydra infrastructure costs include the cluster of three servers on which Hydra runs, the cost of attached storage, networking, test servers, and the administrative overhead to manage, patch, and upgrade these servers. Certain costs are based on the number of years for which the project receives funding which helps us to adjust for the size and scope of each project.

Additional feature development and support at cost.

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Metadata Consultation

UVic Libraries will build a metadata input form that is customized to the needs of a specific project. We will work with the project team to develop a data model for describing digital research objects. Building on the library's base data model our metadata consulting team will recommend standards  to ensure that project metadata can be shared, indexed, and reused over time. We will work with you to identify controlled vocabularies, content standards, and syntax conventions that will help to standardize object descriptions for better search and discovery. Our underlying Fedora software will automatically create unique URL identifiers for each object, and will generate linked data triples for  inclusion in an external triple store. All public collections hosted by UVic Libraries will be exposed for indexing in major web search engines.

The researcher is responsible for adding descriptive metadata to research objects, vetting accuracy, and for ensuring that the project team is familiar with the data model and chosen standards.

In-kind value:

  • $2,000 ($80/hr x 25 hours) for initial data modelling and metadata consultation.

Notes on calculations: Work that is done strictly by librarians is valued at $80/hr. This figure is based on a median Canadian librarian salary of $92,000/yr taking into account the cost of benefits (at 20%) and leaves (at six weeks per year). Thanks to COPPUL and to the University of Manitoba Libraries for sharing information that helped us to arrive at this number. 25 hours is our best estimate of the time that it will take a librarian to consult with the project lead on metadata needs, map required metadata fields to standard controlled vocabularies, map fields to the UVic Libraries data model, and to create a metadata profile that can be used as the basis of the metadata template in Hydra. This figure may be revised with experience.

Extended metadata services available at cost.

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Exhibits and Discovery

Our Spotlight exhibit software will allow your team to build a customized website to showcase your digital objects, and to add narrative and context to the project. The discovery interface includes keyword searching and a faceted browse interface. UVic libraries have developed many plug-in features including media streaming, mapping interfaces, pan and zoom, and object viewers for books and 3D images. We are happy to oversee the development of new features at cost. Spotlight is an open source platform.

Developed features will be made available to all partners.

The researcher is responsible for designing and building the exhibit.

In-kind value:

  • $2,000 ($80/hr x 25 hours) for initial exhibit configuration and training
  • $500/funded year ($50/hr x 10 hours) for ongoing support

Notes on calculations: Initial configuration includes setting up a dedicated Spotlight collection for the project, duplicating the project's SOLR index from Hydra into Spotlight, ensuring proper sync'ing of objects and data from Hydra, setting up accounts and permissions, and proving initial software training for project staff. Ongoing support includes assisting with troubleshooting, ongoing training, and answering technical questions for the duration of the funding cycle.

Additional feature development and support at cost.

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Digital Preservation

All digital objects and metadata held in the Hydra digital asset management system will be subject to UVic Libraries best practices for digital preservation. UVic Libraries will provide advice on sustainable file formats and derivative file types. We will ensure regular back-ups and integrity checks, along with security updates as necessary. Objects will be part of the library's digital lifecycle planning which may include offsite replication and preservation processing using Archivematica, Archive-It, LOCKSS and related tools. The library may perform file integrity checks and format migrations over time.

The researcher is responsible for ensuring the quality of digital objects. Cost (note that this is a real cost to the researcher, not in-kind):

  • $2,594/TB one-time payment for long term storage costs
  • $500/funded year for ongoing preservation services

Notes on calculations: The value of $2,594/TB is cribbed from a report on the costs of long term storage that was produced by the Ontario Libraries Research Cloud Advisory Team. Alan Darnell, Director of Scholar's Portal, kindly shared this report with UVic. The library will bear the cost of ongoing preservation services long after the project funding cycle has finished. This figure is an attempt to recoup some of the long term costs of ongoing back-ups, as well as infrastructure, licensing, and administrative costs of preservation services like Archivematica, Archive- It, and LOCKSS. The value of $2,594/TB is cribbed from a report on the costs of long term storage that was produced by the Ontario Libraries Research Cloud Advisory Team. Alan Darnell, Director of Scholar's Portal, kindly shared this report with UVic. The library will bear the cost of ongoing preservation services long after the project funding cycle has finished. This figure is an attempt to recoup some of the long term costs of ongoing back-ups, as well as infrastructure, licensing, and administrative costs of preservation services like Archivematica, Archive- It, and LOCKSS.

 Additional storage space available at cost.

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Digitization Centre

The Digitization Centre at the University of Victoria Libraries supports the production and delivery of a large array of online digital collections. Our staff have expertise in digitizing a variety of media including books, manuscripts, photographs, artwork, microforms, maps, posters, slides, and audio-visual resources. The Libraries' Digitization Centre has partnered on a number of successful grant applications. We welcome collaborations with faculty, students, and community partners. Please consult our criteria for digital collections.

  • $50/hour for image and text based media including rare and fragile materials. Includes OCR for typeset materials.

Notes on calculations: $50/hr rate is based on digitization staff salaries, plus overhead like equipment, office space, and administration.

Note: The scanning of material from the library's Archives and Special Collections may be available as an in-kind contribution to the project.

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Digital Scholarship Commons

Researchers working with undergraduate and/or graduate students can conduct workshops and/or disseminate their research through lectures or classroom sessions in our Digital Commons Lab. Our software and equipment can suit a range of disciplines and presentation styles.

The researcher is responsible for booking the space in advance and preparing all materials for the days and/or sessions required.

  • In-kind value of space: $50/hour or $400/day

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Research Data Management

In line with the recently released Tri-Agency Research Data Management Policy that sets requirements for those applying for funding to create a data management plan (DMP) and deposit their research data into a digital repository, UVic Libraries provides a range of services to support researchers.

Our librarians can offer direct project-based support to help researchers and their teams develop strong data management plans, using the DMP Assistant, Canada's national data management planning tool.

We can offer support at various stages of the research life cycle to improve data curation practices and resolve issues at the beginning, midway and endpoint of a research study. This support includes: creating documentation and metadata that explain and contextualize data; developing and implementing ongoing quality assurance/control practices to maintain data integrity; and facilitating the deposit of data and supporting documentation into recognized repositories that enable discovery and access, including the Library's Dataverse data repository.

The library can also consult on the retroactive curation and preservation of older research data that may be at risk of degradation or loss.

  • In-kind value: $1,600 ($80/hr x 20 hours) for initial consultation and training on RDM planning and repository options that will meet funding agency requirements.

Extended research data management consultation services available at cost.

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UVic ePublishing/Book Publishing Services

UVic Libraries offers a suite of services related to the publication of open access monographs, as an output of grant-funded research. This alternative to traditional publishing channels provides the opportunity for wide dissemination of research, at a lower cost. The result is a professional-looking publication, openly available and permanently archived online. For examples of our past publications, please visit our ePublishing website. If you are interested in this service, please submit a book proposal to press@uvic.ca .

The ePublishing team will assist from start to finish, with review of materials, copyright, formatting, and design. Digital publications are archived on UVicSpace (UVic's institutional repository). Print-on-demand copies are available for purchase through the UVic Bookstore. Researchers are required to supply funding for external professional services such as copyediting and book design, however Libraries staff can suggest and facilitate the application for additional grants to assist with these costs, where possible.

The following services are available:

Review of manuscript (Librarian time in-kind – $80/2hrs/chapter; Coordinator time in-kind $50/2 hours/chapter) . An experienced Scholarly Communication Librarian will review your manuscript for clarity, consistency, and style. References will be checked against the relevant style manual.

Formatting and Design (External contract –average cost $5,000 per book, depending on size and complexity) . Cover design, layout, and overall aesthetic will be discussed with the researcher. ePublishing Services usually contracts with an experienced book designer to work on the book design including cover, formatting of tables and images, font and headings, accessibility, etc. Cost will depend on the complexity of content and design choices. Depending on funding availability, timelines, and design requirements, the book design may also be undertaken by an in-house staff for design and formatting (estimate $50/4 hours/chapter depending on complexity).

Copyright support and clearance (Coordinator time in-kind $50/4 hour/book depending on complexity of resources used) . UVic Libraries Copyright Coordinator will review the manuscript for potential copyright issues. The Coordinator can research and facilitate copyright permissions for items such as third-party figures and images. We may also suggest openly-sourced alternatives. The researcher is responsible for any associated copyright fees.

Publication grant application assistance (included)

If applicable, ePublishing Services Office will advise researchers on submission and management of appropriate additional grants to support publication of research (e.g. BCcampus Open Textbook grant, UVic Office of Research Services Book and Creative Work Subvention fund.)

Ongoing support (included)

As part of this service, the ePublishing Services Office will provide ongoing support for the project, including:

  • advice on open access licensing
  • book structure e.g. copyright page/acknowledgements
  • managing timelines for book production
  • liaising with designers and editors
  • UVic Bookstore/UVic Printing Services set-up
  • archiving content online
  • indexing for book (e.g. ISBN, CIP, external aggregators, etc.)

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UVic ePublishing Services: Journal Publishing Menu

UVic Libraries wishes to promote multi-modal forms of scholarly communications, enable local control of intellectual assets, and support open access journal publishing initiatives by making available a web-hosting service to University of Victoria associated or affiliated partners (associations/societies). Our free online journal publishing platform includes a public-facing article archive, as well as functionality for editorial workflow and review. This alternative to traditional publishing channels also offers scholars and researchers the ability to meet open access requirements and widely disseminate their research.

Our ePublishing Services team offers a suite of services related to the publication of these journals. Your editorial team is provided with ongoing support in their efforts to create a quality publication with lasting impact and discoverability. For examples of our current journals, please visit https://journals.uvic.ca/. If you are interested in this service, please contact press@uvic.ca.

The following services are available:

Journal Set-Up (Librarian time in-kind – $80/hour)

We will provide access to our Open Journal Systems (OJS) software and establish a unique account to allow the Publisher to manage (i.e., submit, edit, and publish) e-journal content. Your team will be provided with in-person and virtual training and ongoing support for the use of this software as needed.

Journal Transfer (Librarian time in-kind – $80/hour)

If your journal is moving to UVic from another location, we can assist with transfer, digitization and hosting of past archive, as well as adjustments to indexing (ISSN etc.) as appropriate.

  • Costs for digitizing print back issues will be determined upon review (number of issues/pages, $50/hour for image and text based media. Includes OCR for typeset materials.

Note: The scanning of material may be available as an in-kind contribution to the project.

Indexing and Discoverability (Librarian time in-kind – $80/hour)

UVic's journals are discoverable on the web using the usual search engines (e.g., Google Scholar and third-party vendor solutions). We will assist with one-time set-up and ongoing support associated with making your journal discoverable by the scholarly community. This may include activities such as:

  • Assist and advice on the setup of the journal
  • Request an ISSN when needed
  • Provide a stable URL
  • Index in Directory of Open Access Journals, Ebsco, Proquest, Ulrichsweb, etc.
  • Index title in UVic Libraries' collections
  • Create unique Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) for each article
  • Preserve and archive content in a repository
  • Market on our ePublishing website (https://onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca/press/journals/faculty/)
Ongoing Journal Hosting (included in service)

UVic Libraries is committed to the ongoing maintenance and updating of our journals platform. When we agree to host your journal, we agree to:

  • Provide the Publisher with free hosting services;
  • Digitally archive all journal content produced;
  • Strive, in the absence of unforeseen technical difficulties and routine maintenance, to provide 24/7 access to the “e-journal” and its contents;
  • Undertake to install upgrades in a timely manner to software as they become available.

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Open Access Publishing

The UVicSpace institutional repository allows faculty members to meet Tri-council Open Access (OA) requirements without the need to pay Author Fees. UVicSpace is an excellent way to preserve and openly share all scholarly and creative outputs from your project, including reports, videos, posters, and Powerpoint presentations. UVic Libraries can also provide advice and support for Open Access monograph publishing.

Our Scholarly Communications librarian can help you to understand funder OA mandates and assist you in choosing reputable Open Access publishing venues. Open Access consulting services are offered to faculty members at no cost.

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Subject Librarian Expertise and Related Research Services

Researchers looking for subject expertise related to their projects are encouraged to contact their subject liaison librarian for further assistance with these services. 

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Systematic Reviews and Evidence Syntheses

Systematic reviews and other types of evidence synthesis are an important part of funded research. Well-conducted evidence synthesis can map the extent of the literature, highlight gaps and limitations of the existing evidence base, and identify whether the evidence on the topic is settled. As a research methodology, systematic reviews are based on the principles of comprehensiveness, transparency and reproducibility, and minimizing bias. Some granting agencies recommend or require librarians to be collaborators on grant-funded evidence synthesis projects. Previous research has shown the impact of librarian involvement on the quality of the searches and reporting in published reviews.

University of Victoria librarians can work with you as a collaborator on your team, with the goal of helping you minimize bias and increase the quality of your review. If you require a librarian collaborator for your grant-funded evidence synthesis project, you can make your request by filling out the intake form at this page. Submitting a request does not guarantee acceptance, which is based on capacity of our librarians. Timelines for the work will be negotiated with the individual librarian.

The following services are available:

Librarian collaborator (Librarian time in-kind, $80/hour)

When librarians participate as collaborators on an evidence synthesis project, they are expected to receive co-authorship on the corresponding publications, as per the ICMJE guidelines for authorship. As a collaborator, the librarian will:

  • Assist with refining the research question, inclusion criteria, and contribute to the methods section of the review protocol
  • Create, validate, and translate comprehensive search strategies in the chosen databases
  • Export and collate the citations retrieved from the search into a Covidence account for screening
  • Provide guidance on grey literature searching and citation tracking
  • Write the search methods section of the final manuscript according to relevant reporting standards
  • Review the final manuscript prior to manuscript submission, and respond to reviewers’ comments related to the search methods during peer review

In addition to the above, the librarian can consult and provide guidance on other tasks such as data management, tracking and reporting the grey literature searches, locating the articles for full-text screening, etc.

If you are in the grant application stage and would like to include the librarian in your grant, please indicate this in your application. The typical tasks carried out by librarians when collaborating on an evidence synthesis project takes an average of 26.5 hours, however this can be higher or lower depending on the scope of the review. During the initial consultation, an estimate of the total number of hours of in-kind contributions will be provided which can be included in your grant application (at a rate of $80/hour).

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Researcher Responsibilities

UVic Libraries does not provide project management for other services related to grant-funded research projects. PIs are responsible for project management including: hiring staff, planning meetings, loading objects and metadata, ensuring the quality of content, rights management, web design, event planning, promotions, and reporting.

Lisa Goddard, Associate University Librarian
Advanced Research Services
lgoddard@uvic.ca

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